Giovanni Serodine was born at Ascona in the Ticino, but was in Rome c.1615, where he was deeply influenced by Caravaggio and especially by Caravaggio's follower Terbrugghen, with whose works Serodine's were often confused; it is, however, difficult to see how this happened, since Terbrugghen was certainly back in Utrecht by 1616.

Since Serodine died so young all his works date from the 1620s and there are only about fifteen known (four in Ascona); after his death he was completely forgotten and was only rediscovered in the 1950s. Other works are in Beauvais, Edinburgh (NG), Madrid (Prado), Milan (Ambrisiana), Rome (Gall. Naz., Pal. Venezia) and Vassar Coll. NY.